Bucs poised to make a playoff run

The calendar decrees that the NFL's regular season ends Jan. 2, but there's little regular about the 2010 Buccaneers. And they have every intention of playing well into January, if not February.

The league's youngest team was coming off a 3-13 season when training camp opened in August, with the Bucs predictably listed among the league's 100-1 long shots to reach the Super Bowl.

Those odds have shriveled throughout Tampa Bay's 8-5 start, including a 5-0 mark in games decided by three points or fewer.

"We're becoming impossible to ignore," Coach Raheem Morris said Thursday.

A favorable closing schedule has the Bucs poised to make a serious playoff run, beginning with Sunday's home matchup against the 3-10 Lions, who have lost an NFL-record 26 consecutive road games.

If the Bucs get past Detroit, the next test will be Seattle (6-7) for what almost assuredly will be Tampa Bay's final home game of the 2010 season.

"It feels good to be 8-5, but like our offensive line coach (Pete Mangurian) says, nobody is going to help us at all getting to the playoffs," said left tackle Donald Penn. "We've got to take it week by week, game by game, and that's what we've done a great job of this season. I think the Jets got ahead of themselves, losing two in a row. That's one thing I like about us - we're a humble team."

Tampa Bay hasn't lost to a club with a losing record all season, and by the time the Bucs enter the Louisiana Superdome on Jan. 2, the Saints could be locked into the No. 5 playoff seed in the NFC.

If that's the case, don't expect Drew Brees under center for New Orleans when the Bucs visit.

And should the Bucs improve by eight wins and finish 11-5, the odds are prohibitive Tampa Bay would qualify for the playoffs for the first time since the 2007 season.

"The reality of it is, we're not in the playoffs right now," said defensive end Stylez G. White. "Coach Morris does a good job of keeping us focused and we have to look out for the Lions Sunday. They held Green Bay to three points last week and they're coming to Tampa to win a game, whether they're going to the playoffs or not."

Even if the Bucs lose to the Saints, they would have a decent shot at the playoffs at 10-6.

The fading Packers are likely to drop to 8-6 Sunday night at New England, where Tom Brady simply doesn't lose. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers is recovering from a concussion, and Green Bay's final two games are against the Giants and Bears, both 9-4.

If the Packers falter, Tampa Bay could be left battling the NFC East runner-up for the final spot.

The loser of Sunday's Giants-Eagles matchup will be 9-5, but the closing schedule doesn't appear particularly formidable for either club; the Giants face the Packers and Redskins on the road in the last two weeks while Philadelphia plays Minnesota and Dallas, both at home.

"I'm a firm believer of controlling your own destiny," Morris said. "I kind of prefer to go out there and do it our way. Don't let injuries, don't let distractions slip in the way and become an excuse."

All the injury-ravaged Bucs want is a chance to showcase their grit on a national stage in the playoffs. Among NFC clubs, only the Bucs, Lions and 49ers have failed to win a playoff game since the 2003 season.

"At our team meeting yesterday, we talked about how once you get in the show, anybody has a chance," said Bucs tight end John Gilmore.

When Morris first mentioned a "Race to 10" as Tampa Bay's goal, he didn't know for sure that a determined group of players would be poised four months later to make it a reality.

"These guys have played hard and practiced hard and it's paid off," Morris said. "They're sitting at the point where they're 8-5 and they're racing to 10 ... maybe even more."

ikaufman@tampatrib.com

(813) 259-7833